Tag Archives: Federal government of the United States

Tens of thousands of protesters, composed of activist groups and unions from around the country, marched from Indian Steele Park in mid-town Phoenix on their way to the state Capitol May 29, trying to send a message to state and federal politicians: Repeal Arizona's new immigration law.

Not every bill signed into law in 2010 was deemed worthy of the international attention that followed S1070, but many others were significant in their own right. Through the regular session and three special sessions, lawmakers introduced more than 1,200 bills, 355 of which were signed.

Kirk Adams presided over the House of Representatives during what may go down as one of the most conservative legislatures in Arizona history. The past two years have seen more than $2 billion in spending cuts as lawmakers grappled with annual budget deficits totaling nearly three times that amount, as well as a raft of conservative policy decisions on everything from abortion to guns to immigration.

As calls spread for an economic boycott of Arizona, the state's governor enlisted the help of former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin on Saturday to defend a new law cracking down on illegal immigration.

While the term illegal immigration often evokes images of people eluding authorities at the border, a large share of those in the country illegally are people who came on tourist, student and work visas and simply stayed.

Federal courts have rejected immigration laws in other states that aimed for results similar to those prescribed by Arizona’s S1070, but supporters of the Arizona law say they learned a lesson from those court cases and made sure to avoid repeating past mistakes.